Thomas' wife asks for apology from Anita Hill

by Mark Sherman - Oct. 20, 2010 12:00 AMAssociated Press

WASHINGTON - The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is asking Anita Hill to apologize for accusing the justice of sexually harassing her, 19 years after Thomas' confirmation hearing spawned a national debate about harassment in the workplace.

Virginia Thomas said in a statement Tuesday that she was "extending an olive branch" to Hill, now a Brandeis University professor, in a voice-mail message left over the weekend.

But Hill did not necessarily receive Thomas' voice-mail message that way, contacting Brandeis' public-safety office, which in turn informed the FBI.

In a transcript of the message provided by ABC News, which said it listened to the recording, Thomas identified herself and then said, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day," Thomas said.

Hill said she has nothing to apologize for and stands by her testimony, according to ABC. She worked for Thomas in two federal-government jobs.

Virginia Thomas issued a statement Tuesday in which she said she did not intend to offend Hill.

During his 1991 Senate confirmation hearings to the high court, Justice Thomas adamantly denied Hill's accusations that he made inappropriate sexual remarks, including references to pornographic movies. Thomas said he did talk about X-rated movies while at Yale Law School, adding that so did many other young people in the 1970s.

The allegations nearly derailed his nomination.

He broke a 16-year silence about the hearings in a 2007 book, "My Grandfather's Son," writing that Hill was a mediocre employee who was used by political opponents to make claims she had been sexually harassed. The justice's wife first suggested Hill apologize in interviews the couple gave after the book's release.

Hill had worked for Thomas at the Education Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She first made her allegations after Thomas had been nominated to the high court, 10 years after she began working for him and only after she was contacted by congressional investigators.